There are three distinguished in fierceness: Israel among the nations, the dog among animals, and the cock among birds. —Rabbi Simeon, Tractate Bezah 25b, Babylonian Talmud (Quincentenary ed.), Soncino Pr.

Where is it possible to find a group of Jews who are committed to Israel, and whose children are likely to honor that commitment? The answer is, in a synagogue on the Sabbath. —Elliott Abrams, "Can Jews Survive?"

It is a fact that the Jewish religion is above all Jewish nationalism ... One must be a Jew first and a human being second. —Moses Hess, Rome and Jerusalem, as quoted in The Decadence of Judaism in Our Time by Moshe Menuhin.

Why, then, does truth generate hatred ... unless it be that truth is loved in such a way that those who love something else besides her wish that to be the truth which they do love. ... Therefore, they hate the truth for the sake of whatever it is that they love in place of the truth. —Augustine of Hippo, Confessions (Bk. X, Ch. XXIII, 34)

Friday, December 28, 2007

After writing my last post about Abraham Seligman, I started thinking more about Eli Avny (pictured at right) and found an aticle in the Detroit Jewish News (DJN; 7/18/2006) entitled "Ann Arbor turns out to support Israel." The previously noted role/truth reversal in Jewish holidays was on full display in the article. The opening line is "Attacks on Israel brought together Ann Arbor-area Jews and pro-Israel friends for a rally at the Federal Building in downtown Ann Arbor on July 16." The article later quotes Ann Arbor city councilmember Joan Lowenstein: " 'Hezbollah has made a miscalculation. ... now they are trying to do a pogrom in Israel. But Jews don't flee pogroms anymore,' she said to cheers and applause."

In point of fact, Hizbullah had killed three and captured two Israeli soldiers near the Lebanese border with occupied Palestine (aka Israel). The goal was to ease the murderous Zionist onslaught against Gaza and to obtain Zionist prisoners to be used in brokering an exchange for scores of Lebanese prisoners in Israel. In response, Israel unleashed "Operation Just Reward" (another reversal) and turned Lebanon into "free-fire zone," killing hundreds of Lebanese civilians.

Which, brings us to Eli Avny. According to the DJN, Avny was born in Israel and "fought in the 1973 Yom Kippur War." The rally to support Israeli agression and war crimes in July, 2006, was the brainchild of Avny and Carolyn Grawi. When paired with Seligman's recent visit to Israel this all begins to make sense. Avny obviously feels a deep connection and identification with the murderous "Jewish state" and his bloodlust was stirred up by the then-recent Israeli onslaught against the people of Lebanon. Just two weeks earlier, Avny had been cheering the slaughter on and, so, he was indignant at the protesters he saw on August 4, 2006, and decided to put the fear of Zionism in them. As with Seligman, Avny "could not believe people were allowed to stand around and behave as 'these folks are' " and like Seligman, he took action and walked away without even getting a traffic ticket for swerving his car dangerously close to protesters.